The Messenger - Sept 15, 2010 - The Rocky Road of Love

Pastor's Corner

"The Rocky Road of Love"

"Now Faith, Hope, and Love abide, but the greatest of these is Love."
(1 Corinthians 13:13)

When looking back on my sermons for the last several years, I made a rather shocking discovery. I have preached the "love" chapter from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians repeatedly. I have also preached upon the "body of Christ" (described in chapter 12) and the centrality of Christ (the main theme of chapter 1) over and over again. But I have rarely preached upon any chapter in between them. Looking back on my sermons, there was nothing from chapter 4, nothing from chapter 5, nothing from chapter 6, and so on. After almost 20 years of preaching, that's quite a gap!

The main reason for this omission is that the middle chapters of 1 Corinthians are just plain messy. They deal with sticky issues--sexual morality, gender roles, dietary rules, etc.--and they address those issues in very specific ways. Singles are encouraged to remain single. Women are encouraged to remain silent during worship. And the elders are encouraged to "expel" a church member who lapsed into sexual sin. All of these practices sound quite harsh in our day, yet each of them was helpful to the churches that Paul served. So, how do we interpret them today?

First, I think we need to distinguish between practices and principles. The practices of any congregation are very specific to the culture of its day. Women who dyed their hair, for example, were considered to be "hussies" only 75 years ago. No "respectable" Christian woman would consider such a thing, and several preachers spoke against it in their sermons. But you'd really start a firestorm by banishing colored hair today! That's because hair coloring is a practice that has become accepted over time.

Fortunately, almost every practice is under girded by a principle. And those principles endure even when the practices must change. The principle behind undyed hair is personal modesty, and the principle behind female silence during worship is reverence. There is still a place for modesty in the Christian life, and there is still a place for reverence. But the practices that reveal them will change from time to time.

Second, we must remember that all the "middle chapters" of 1 Corinthians are turning points on the path to love. We're still headed to the climax (1 Corinthians 13), which many folks know by heart, but we have to clear out a few boulders to get there.

Some folks might say, "why bother?" Why bother with all this middle "yucky" stuff? Can't we just leap to the great love chapter near the end? The answer is "yes," (I've done that many times) but I've come to see that our love will be more fragile if we do. That's because real love isn't easy. Parental love isn't easy. Marital love isn't easy. And fraternal love isn't easy either. Real love does have problems, and real love does have challenges that must be overcome. By studying how Paul met them in his day and time, we can learn how to clear some boulders from our path as well. Thus, I hope that you will join me in this task.

I'll see you in church!

Weekly Calendar
Sep. 16
Thursday	11:30 AM			Forever Young Luncheon
	7:30 PM			Chancel Choir Rehearsal
Friday	6:00 PM			Youth at Mulligan's
Saturday	9:30 AM			Youth at LA County Fair
Sunday	8:30 AM			Adult Sunday School
	9:30 AM			Worship
				Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:1-5, 25-35
				Sermon: "Individuality & Community"
				Preacher: Pastor Neal
	11:00 AM			Redesign Committee Meeting
Monday	7:00 PM			Women's Bible Study
	7:30 PM			Nar-anon
Tuesday	7:30 PM			Session Meeting
Wednesday	7:00 AM			Bible Study at Carrow's
	1:00 PM			Women's Bible Study
	4:00 PM			Parent Hangout
	4:00 PM			Angel and Cherubs Storytime
	4:00 PM			GG Devotional/Homework Hangout
	4:00 PM			Angel Choir
	4:30 PM			Cherub Choir
	5:00 PM			Gospel Gang Choir
	5:45 PM			Dinner for King's Chorus and SonLight Singers
	6:15 PM			High School Fellowship
	6:15 PM			King's Chorus Choir
	7:00 PM			Prayer Group
	7:15 PM			Junior High Fellowship
	7:15 PM			SonLight Singers Choir

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Editor's Corner

The Devil & the Duck

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his Sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen..." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally just smiled and said, "well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help...". She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer... He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you."

Thought for the day and every day thereafter:

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)...whatever it is....You need to know that: God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.

He has seen your whole life... He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets.

It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved. Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today. Share this with a friend and always remember: God is at the window! When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!

Until next time!

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